Men fighting over women: a story that never changes

Men fighting over women: a story that never changes

Do you know any man who has ever come to blows over a woman? In almost any group of acquaintances, the answer is a resounding yes. The question is nothing new, but every generation asks it again with the same feigned surprise. This time, the evidence comes from the trenches: there are those who still carry a scar under their eye decades after a brawl outside a bar in a nightlife district. The story is a classic one: he worked at the venue, she in the kitchen; her official boyfriend was studying at university and came at weekends. The relationship crumbled, there was an affair, and it all ended in punches on the pavement. The loser did not take defeat gracefully, and the physical mark remained as a reminder.

From the eighties to the nineties: nightclubs as a battleground

Those who lived through the eighties remember it as a weekend classic: "You were staring at my girlfriend", "You're trying to chat her up", "You bumped into me on purpose". It was the main cause of fights in nightclubs, according to those who lived through it. In the nineties, the setting did not change: cocktail bars and nightclubs were still full of lads brawling over a girl, with the same ritual of defiant stares and alcohol involved. The routine repeated itself street after street.

Alcohol and pride: a mix that never fails

It does not all stay inside bars and clubs. There are more serious episodes, like the one involving relatives "pickled in alcohol" who, over an alleged attempt at infidelity, came close to tragedy. For some, the explanation borders on the zoological: when "someone makes a move on your female", what matters is not so much the other man's sensual desire as the affront to the alpha male's pride. A view that, uncomfortable as it may be, finds an echo in conversations at the bar.

An instinct that never modernises

You would think social evolution had left these behaviours behind. But those who watch the present from experience point out that, among young people, the dynamic is still alive: nightclubs, jealousy, alcohol and punches. Perhaps the difference is that now it gets filmed and posted on social media. What does not change is the core: a mix of territoriality, insecurity and poorly channelled testosterone. The next time someone claims that human beings have overcome their primary instincts, remind them that there are still scars that prove otherwise.